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Bell: Jonathan Martin trade is best outcome for all

Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports 1:49 a.m. EDT March 12, 2014

Miami Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin (71) reacts after a touchdown by tight end Dion Sims (not pictured) in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Sun Life Stadium.(Photo: Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports)

Jonathan Martin needed a landing spot, because a return to the Miami Dolphins locker room was not going to work. Not after all of the drama stemming from the bullying/workplace harassment/mental meltdown situation that erupted last fall.

So here's the best-case scenario: the former Stanford left tackle is reunited with his college coach, Jim Harbaugh.

Martin was clearly one of the biggest winners in the NFL on Tuesday, when the free agency market opened and assorted chapters closed because of high salaries.

And it has nothing to do with money. It's about peace of mind and a fresh start, which makes the Dolphins winners, too. In an ordeal that cost people jobs, money and reputations, this was another huge component of closure.

The players in the locker room who vehemently denied that there were the type of issues in the environment that were ultimately detailed in the 144-page Wells Report can proceed with their business of bonding without having to try to re-connect with Martin.

Now Martin has been traded and Incognito -- who recently checked himself into a facility in Arizona for psychiatric evaluation and presumably treatment – is a free agent who surely won't be signing with the Dolphins or the 49ers.

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The 49ers were one of at least two teams that Martin, a Stanford product, indicated to the Dolphins that he wished to be traded to. The Indianapolis Colts – with former Stanford stars Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener, and former offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton in tow -- were the other team.

Both teams loomed as a safe haven of sorts for Martin, who contemplated suicide, because of the Stanford connections in leadership positions.

Guess it's fitting that trade occurred as the free agency market opened. Martin seemingly had his own personal form of free agency.

Martin tweeted that he was excited about the opportunity to play football again. He'd better be.

And there will be more scrutiny than he's ever experienced as an anonymous offensive lineman.

He's a household name now. A player who had issues. That Jonathan Martin.

It seemed a bit unfair to me that some people were quick to blame Martin for what happened in Miami, without giving full stock to the mental strain that has been revealed.

People may still wonder whether he has the heart to play football.

We'll find out sooner or later. And we'll get a read on his talent, too.

This much we know: Martin has landed in the perfect spot for getting his life and career on track.

Harbaugh respects Martin as a person and a player, and voiced as much during an interview that was used in The Wells Report. In that regard, it's ideal that Martin winds up back under Harbaugh's wing while at the critical stage of trying to put it all back together.

That seems so humane, which is not always the case in an NFL environment.